Priorities of the 2028-20234 EU budget
The European Parliament passed a resolution on the EU's future multiannual financial framework
Leyla Cheamil, 08.05.2025, 13:50
The European Parliament wants a significantly more ambitious EU budget for the 2028-2034 framework, one that can meet the growing expectations of EU citizens amid global instability, according to a resolution adopted by MEPs during a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The current spending ceiling of 1% of the EU’s gross national income is not enough to cope with the growing number of crises and challenges, MEPs believe. Taking into account the withdrawal of the USA from its global role, spending will have to address Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, an extremely difficult economic and social context, a competitiveness gap, as well as the worsening climate and biodiversity crisis, the resolution reads. The document reaffirms the role of cohesion policy in deepening the single market, reducing inequalities and combating poverty. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said that priority will be given to Europe’s competitiveness and security.
In turn, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan, an EU co-rapporteur on the EU’s long-term budget, said that the European Parliament wants the next long-term budget to be better suited to meet current challenges – to help Europe act quickly in crisis situations, to better protect its citizens and to build a stronger and more competitive Union. Another two priorities are the common agricultural policy and the cohesion policy, as well as facilitating access to funding, Siegfried Mureşan said. The Romanian MEP said that beneficiaries of European funds do not often complain about the lack of funds, but about red tape, procedures in accessing funds, the fact that the rules are often different from one European fund program to another. Therefore, we want to simplify the rules, reduce bureaucracy, facilitate access to European funds, to become simpler, faster and even cheaper for beneficiaries, Siegfried Mureşan said.
Co-rapporteur Carla Tavares from Portugal stated that people and regions must be at the heart of the next multiannual financial framework. She stressed that strong investments are needed to boost strategic autonomy, economic resilience and green objectives, without leaving anyone behind. In addition, an ambitious budget must promote social and territorial cohesion, include new and modernized revenue sources and guarantee sufficient funding for security, defense and preparedness to ensure fair and prosperous communities, while observing the rule of law and the EU’s fundamental values, Carla Tavares said. The European Commission is expected to propose the draft budget this summer, inviting Parliament and the Council to negotiate its final form. (VP)
